Cover for lavatory pipes



Jan. 6, 1970 u. HARRIS COVER FOR LAVA'I'ORY PIPES Filed Aug. 28, 1967 FIG. 2

o 36 4o INVENTOR 01mm 5 ATTORNEY United States Patent O 3,487,478 COVER FOR LAVATORY PIPES Ulysses Harris, 510 Downer St., Westfield, NJ. 07090 Filed Aug. 28, 1967, Ser. No. 663,777 Int. Cl. A47k 1/04; E03c 1/18; A47b 81/00 U.S. Cl. 4166 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE One-piece cover comprising molded plastic or the like for camoufiaging unsightly pipes beneath a sink or lavatory.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION This relates to a device for camouflaging unsightly pipes beneath a sink or lavatory.

In the prior art, various means have been used for camouflaging access and drain pipes beneath a lavatory, such as, for example, individually constructed wooden encasements or heavy ceramic encasements which are necessarily assembled in several parts, and which are either supported from the floor or are bolted or otherwise secured at several points to the sink or to the wall, or to the pipes themselves. The heavy fixtures of the types used in the prior art which are necessarily secured at a number of supporting points, are costly and cumbersome to assemble and install. Accordingly, it is the principal object of the present invention to provide a simple, relatively inexpensive, lightweight device for camoufiaging unsightly plumbing which is easy to assemble and install.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION These and other objects are realized in accordance with the present invention which contemplates the use of a one-piece cavity comprising, for example, molded plastic material, of any of the types well-known in the art, which is dimensioned to completely cover the drain and access pipes for most types of sinks and lavatories. The cover of the present invention is molded in one piece and preferably shaped to fit under the lavatory in such a way that its upper edge is concealed. The lower portion, which extends part way to the floor, bulges outwardly, providing a cavity to accommodate the pipes to be concealed. The cavity is closed at the bottom and is so designed that its inner edge fits fiush against the wall adjacent to which the lavatory is stationed. An ear protruding downwardly at the bottom provides a fitting for a single supporting screw or bolt, which, depending on the weight of the material, may be adequate. Alternatively, additional support fittings may be provided facing the wall at the upper end of the cover.

The principal advantage of the lavatory cover of the present invention is that it is cheap to produce, may be attractively colored, and lends itself to quantity production. Moreover, it is simple to install and, therefore, does not require the services of a plumber or tiler to perform the installation.

Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from a detailed study of the specification hereinafter with reference to the attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 is a perspective showing of the cover of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a longitudinal section taken through the center line of FIGURE 1; and

FIG. 3 is a sectional showing of the cover in accordance with FIGS. 1 and 2, modified to accommodate legs for supporting a basin.

3,487,478 Patented Jan. 6, 1970 DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF INVENTION Referring to FIGURE 1, there is shown a typical example of a cover for lavatory pipes in accordance with the present invention. For the purposes of illustration, let us assume that this comprises a shell 1 of polypropylene, having the form indicated in FIGURES 1 and 2. Polypropylene has been selected for the present example because it is a rigid, fairly lightweight material resistant to most chemicals and is readily moldable. It will be appreciated, however, that any other synthetic plastic material of one of the types well-known in the art may be substituted, which may be formed, for example, by compression molding, injection molding, thermo forming, blow molding, or similar processes, into a substantially rigid, durable, lightweight shell which retains its shape at temperatures within the range between the freezing and melting points of water.

In the example under description, the plastic shell 1 may be, for example, between one-eighth and threeeighths of an inch thick. The upper portion 2 is in the form of a rectangular box, the upper end of which is, say, 20 inches across the vertical front face, which is nine inches deep. The vertical side faces are each 16 inches wide and nine inches deep. This portion is preferably designed to fit up under the edge of the lavatory sink in such a manner that the open back edge is flush against the wall on which the lavatory pipes are mounted. The back edge may, for example, contain a notch or stepped portion 3 in the upper inner edge to enable it to fit closely under the back edge of the lavatory sink.

The lower portion 4 comprises a cavity which may assume, for example, a frustro-pyramidal form. This extends downwardly an additional 10 inches below the lower end of the box portion, inclining inwardly to form an acute angle of, say, 3840, with a horizontal plane defining the bottom, which exte'nds about eight inches out from the back wall. These dimensions are merely illustrative, as the shaping may be varied to conceal the pipes on different types of lavatories.

In the center of the bottom edge, designed to contact the wall, is a projection 5, formed integrally with the cavity 4, which extends several inches below the bottom and is shaped to fit flat against the back wall which supports the lavatory pipes. The projection 5 has a central hole 5a, which is designed to receive the shank of a fastening device comprising a single screw or bolt for fixing the bottom of the shell 1 to the wall. If the material of the cover is sufliciently lightweight, this may be the only supporting means necessary. However, additional fixtures for screws or bolts may also be placed near the top back edge of the cover.

At a central location in the bottom of the cavity 4, including the lowest drainage point, is drilled a hole 6, about one-eighth of an inch in diameter, which serves as an outlet for water collecting, in the event that any of the pipes are leaking.

The structure described may the formed in any of several different ways well-known in the art, such as injection, transfer, or compression molding, by processes which :are described in detail in Plastics Mold Engineering, by J. H. DuBois and W. I. Pribble, Reinhold Publishing Corp., 1965.

In the event that injection molding is employed, a mold is first made to the desired form in the manner described in chapter 9 in the above-named reference. The polypropylene is first obtained in the form of powder from supplies available in the art. The powder is placed in the hopper in a device, such as disclosed, for example, in Fig. 9.3 on page 399 of Plastics Mold Engineering, supra, and the molding process is carried out in the manner there described. It is necessary in the course of the injection molding process through the extruder barrel to heat up the plastic charge to a temperature between 450 and 575 Fahrenheit, with the application of a pressure of about 1000 pounds per square inch at the die head. For polypropylene, mold shrinkage is small, of the order of 0.0100.025 inch per inch.

The specific process used for molding the device of the present invention, will, of course, depend on the preferred material, the desired shape, size, et cetera.

It will be understood that the device could be formed in many different shapes and sizes to conform to different sink and lavatory sizes. For example, the invention contemplates a modified shape in which certain areas of the top are slightly cut-out to accommodate metal legs which serve as supports for some types of lavatories or sinks.

Moreover, the device can be made in numerous different colors to conform to different bathroom decors by including coloring matter in the raw material during the molding process, in a manner well-known in the art.

What I claim is: 1. In combination with a water basin fastened to an ad-' jacent wall, said basin having one or more downwardly protruding drain and/ or access pipes fastened to said wall, the improvement comprising:

a cover in the form of a synthetic plastic shell adapted to be preformed by mass production techniques,

said cover comprising an outwardly bulging cavity shaped to accommodate and conceal from view said downwardly protruding pipes by substantially closing the space between the underside of said basin and a level above floor level but below said pipes,

said cavity shaped so that its peripheral edges at least partly define a first opening constructed to surround and fit closely beneath said basin, and a second opening connected to said first opening and in a plane substantially normal to the principal plane of said first opening, the edges of said second opening constructed to fit flush against said wall surrounding said pipes on the underside of said basin, and means attached to the edges of said second opening for fastening said cavity to said wall.

2. A device in accordance with claim 1 comprising cutaway portions to accommodate supporting legs attached to said basin.

3. As an article of manufacture, a cover comprising synthetic plastic or the like constructed to conceal access and drain pipes connected to a water basin adjacent a wall, said cover comprising an open box-like structure having a pair of oblong substantially parallel sides, joined at one pair of short edges by a third perpendicular side, substantially longer and of about the same width as the sides of said pair, the other short edges of said pair defining a fourth open side opposite said third side, the upper edges of said box-like structure defining in a horizontal plane three sides of a substantially rectangular upper opening, said third side having :an extension depending downwardly and inwardly from its lower edge, and each of said parallel sides having an extension depending downwardly and inwardly from its lower edge, said downwardly depending extensions integrally joined together to form a hollow cavity closed on three sides and at the bottom which is tangential to a plane parallel to said horizontal plane, said bottom including a drain hole, the edge portions of said cavity together with the other short edges'of said pair defining in a plane substantially normal to. said horizontal plane an extensive lateral opening contiguous -with said rectangular upper opening, and means connect ed to the edge portions of said cavity for securing said lateral opening against a substantially plane vertical wall, said means comprising at least one ear integrally connected-to the edges of said cavity and extended in said normal plane,

UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,551,215 8/1925 Pope 4-5 2,515,099 7/1950 Smith 4187 3,015,861 1/1962 Hupp 5279 3,221,454 12/1965 Togni 5235 FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner S. D. BURKE III, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

